ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has picked his Top 3 members of Marvel's the X-Men. The iconic sports television personality helped ring in the era of "Embrace Debate" that has become a major part of sports talk radio and TV. Known for his provocative analysis and dour deliver, Smith is currently one of the hosts of First Take on ESPN, and also appears as an analyst on various ESPN programs. He also hosts The Stephen A. Smith Show on YouTube, which features Smith talk about various subjects without filter, something he can't always do on ESPN.
Recently, he revealed his Top 3 X-Men characters, so if you want to know who makes his Mount Rushmore of X-Men, check out his response to a fan from a segment of his YouTube show where he answered an X-Men question from his ESPN colleague Mina Kimes. She posted the question on Twitter that read, "Who are your top three draft picks here?", along with the cover art of Marvel's X-Men '97 comic that will be released ahead of the X-Men '97 animated series.
Smith names all the mutants on the X-Men '97 cover (Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Jubilee, Storm, Rogue, Gambit, and Bishop) before revealing his 3 favorite characters. "First off, Wolverine. Let's get that out of the way. We're definitely going Wolverine," Smith said. "I'm going to do that. I'm going to tell you Beast. I can do that. And how can I go against Storm? I mean Halle Berry, what do you want me to say?"
When is X-Men '97 coming to Disney+?
The X-Men '97 show, which is a revival of the X-Men: The Animated Series (1992-97), was originally announced in November 2021 and slated for Fall 2023 premiere on Disney+, but the first season of delayed to 2024 with other Marvel animated shows Black Panther spinoff Eyes of Wakanda and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (formerly Spider-Man: Freshman Year). 10 episodes have been confirmed for X-Men '97's first season, and it will reportedly premiere on Disney+ soon.
Cosmic Circus reported that X-Men '97 will be available to stream on Disney+ "mid to late March", but Marvel Studios hasn't confirmed an official release date yet.
Who are the voice cast of X-Men '97?
The original cast of the X-Men: Animated Series will return to join the voice cast of X-Men '97 with new talents. Here's a list of X-Men '97's voice cast:
Cal Dodd as Wolverine
Ray Chase as Cyclops
Catherine Disher as Jean Grey
Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm
Lenore Zann as Rogue
Chris Potter as Gambit
George Buza as Beast
Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler
Holly Chou as Jubilee
Matthew Waterson as Magneto
Christopher Britton as Mr. Sinister
Gui Agustini as Sunspot
Jack Castorena and Chase Conley are directing X-Men '97 with Beau DeMayo as the animated show's Head Writer and Executive Producer. For more information about the upcoming animated series, check out everything we know about X-Men '97 in our detailed article.
